Reach out in your community!

"We always believe the word of God can help in all situations. But also there are times when people have psychological issues, and we need to make referrals."

By Russell McCulley | August 13, 2006

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - African-American ministers, accustomed to providing spiritual guidance to their congregations, are helping members cope with serious mental and emotional disorders nearly a year after Hurricane Katrina hit.

"It is, at times, overwhelming," said Rev. Larry Campbell, assistant pastor of Israelite Baptist Church in the Central City neighborhood. He has counseled worshipers with substance abuse problems and suicidal thoughts, referring some to mental health professionals, when possible.

"There's a sense of hopelessness as it relates to, 'When are we going to get this city back to where it was?"'

The annual suicide rate has increased from nine per 100,000 before the storm to more than 26 per 100,000 after Katrina.

Shauna James stood trembling in the kitchen before hanging up the phone. Her mind raced. Her body shivered. Was it true?

She finally slid down the wall to the tile floor where she huddled in a ball crying for more than an hour. A colleague, in deep depression after Hurricane Katrina, had taken his own life.

“I just don’t know what to say,” James said. “This world has messed with us all.”

Her story reflects one of more than 30 suicides in the New Orleans area post-Katrina. Suicide rates have nearly tripled in the 11 months since the Crescent City levees broke, and experts say New Orleans is experiencing an epidemic of depression and post-traumatic stress that crosses all socio-economic lines.

Dr. Jeffrey Rouse, the deputy New Orleans coroner dealing with psychiatric cases, estimates the annual suicide rate at less than nine per 100,000 residents before the storm. It’s since increased to more than 26 per 100,000, he said.

Word from the Bazelon Center is Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR), Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) have joined to press for an indefinite delay to the $10 billion in budget cuts to Medicaid at a time when mental health services are critical.